Dutch pensioners at little risk of poverty as income and assets grow

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Today’s pensioners have more disposable income than in the past and their assets have increased due to soaring house prices, according to research carried out by the finance ministry for Christian Democrat senators.

But even excluding home ownership, pensioners have more assets on average than the rest of the population, the ministry research shows.

Between 2001 and 2010, older people’s income rose 10% but in younger households the increase was just 2%. However, since then the gap has closed because pension funds stopped index linking pensions to head off the impact of the financial crisis, finance minister Wopke Hoestra said.

Pensioners will also benefit in the future from cuts in income tax and other income-related benefits, Hoekstra said in the briefing.

Compared with other countries, Dutch pensioners are also well off and the risk of poverty is minor, Hoekstra said. Just 2.6% of Dutch pensioners are said to be poor, compared with 8.2% of households in general. (DutchNews)